Health

Over the weekend, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he had tested positive for COVID-19, his third time battling the virus.

Lopez Obradour, who suffered a heart attack in 2013, wrote on Twitter on Sunday that his case is mild and that “my heart is at 100 percent.”

Studies suggest that most Americans have been infected with COVID at least once but a growing number have been infected multiple times.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not provide reinfection data but state-level data paints a varied picture.

Data from the New York State Department of Health shows that about 8.5% of total infections are reinfections. In Washington state, about 1% of all infections are reinfections as of October 2022, the latest date for which data is available, the state health department said.

Experts say reinfection is caused by a number of factors — including waning immunity and more transmissible variants — but the risk is highest for those who are vulnerable to serious complications from COVID.

What is the risk of being reinfected?

There are several factors tied to a person’s likelihood of being reinfected.

As of March 19, CDC data shows the COVID-19 case rate for unvaccinated people was 81.11 per 100,000 — more than three times higher than the rate of 25.81 per 100,000 among people fully vaccinated and boosted.

While being fully vaccinated and getting the bivalent booster shot can lower the risk of reinfection, studies have shown that immunity does wane over time.

Additionally, the chances of reinfection increases if a person lives in a county with high community transmission levels versus low transmission levels.

Another study from the CDC looked at essential workers who had previously been infected. It found that being unvaccinated, not frequently wearing a mask since first infection and being Black all increased the risk of being reinfected.

“The reality is three years into the pandemic, we know that infection is dependent on a variety of factors, including prior immunity,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation office at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “It’s not impossible especially over a long period of time, with immunity waning, whether that’s through infection or through vaccination.”

He continued, “We’ve seen many people with two, three, even four times COVID infection. It’s related to behavior. It’s related to practices around masking or travel.”

Role of variants

Currently, XBB.1.5, a subvariant of omicron, makes up the majority of new COVID cases in the U.S., CDC data shows.

Meanwhile, another subvariant, XBB.1.16, which was first detected in India, makes up nearly 10% of new cases.

Dr. Maria van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead for COVID-19, said at a briefing that the variant “has one additional mutation in the spike protein, which in lab studies showed increased infectivity.”

Currently, no data suggests XBB.1.16 causes an increase in more severe illness, hospitalizations or deaths.

Brownstein said it’s important to stay vigilant because a new variant could change how likely reinfection is.

“We still have concern about being thrown a curveball when it comes to variants,” Brownstein said. “So far, we’re seeing a pretty predictable path along this omicron front but it is possible we’ll see something completely out of left field that could challenge that underlying immunity that we’ve had from previous infections and vaccines.”

Is reinfection dangerous?

Brownstein said there has been conflicting data on whether or not COVID reinfection raises the risk of chronic illness. Having a prior infection, however, does offer some protection, experts say.

“At the end of the day having the underlying immunity is beneficial … some level of immunity will provide some cross protection to new variants,” he said.
 
Brownstein said there is still a risk for those who are more likely to have severe complications from COVID-19, including the elderly and those who are immunocompromised.

Additionally, every COVID infection increases the risk of someone developing long COVID, which occurs when a person has ongoing symptoms of COVID lasting three months or longer.

“The concern that we have is not just about hospitalizations and deaths; it’s the long-term chronic impact of COVID,” Brownstein said. “And each time that you get infected, there’s a potential for having longer-lasting symptoms, which we’ve seen strong data support, how debilitating some of these impacts can be for the population.”

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(NEW YORK) — A Canadian health official said on Friday Americans could access an abortion drug up north if a ban is upheld in the United States.

In an April 7 decision, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas ruled in favor of Alliance Defending Freedom — a conservative Christian legal advocacy group — and reversed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone.

After appeals, the case worked its way up the Supreme Court, which issued an administrative stay that gives the justices more time to consider the issue. The stay will be in place until the end of day Friday.

Philippe-Alexandre Langlois, press secretary to Canada’s Families Minister Karina Gould, said non-Canadians — including Americans — are welcome to obtain an abortion in Canada.

“Our government has and will always defend a woman’s right to choose. We have taken action to not only protect, but also improve access to reproductive health services, including abortion,” he told ABC News in a statement.

“In Canada, there is no prohibition on the provision of health care services to citizens of other countries,” the statement continued. “Non-Canadians are able to receive necessary medical services here, provided they can access and pay for them.”

The statement comes after Gould told CTV News Thursday that when it comes to access to the abortion pill, Canada would “work to provide that for American women.”

Mifepristone is a drug typically used in combination with another drug, misoprostol, to induce an abortion or to help manage an early miscarriage.

The medication works by blocking progesterone, a hormone that the body needs to continue a pregnancy.

This causes the uterine lining to stop thickening and to break down, detaching the embryo. The second drug, misoprostol, taken 24 to 48 hours later, causes the uterus to contract and dilates the cervix, which will expel the embryo.

The FDA authorized mifepristone for medication abortion in September 2000 for up to seven weeks’ gestation, which was then extended to 10 weeks’ gestation in 2016.

However, the World Health Organization says the two drug-regiment can be taken up until the 12-week mark of pregnancy.

Medication abortion now accounts for more than half of all abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute.

In its lawsuit, Alliance Defending Freedom, the advocacy group, claimed that mifepristone is not safe, and that the FDA didn’t study it closely enough before it was approved.

However, OBGYNs have previously told ABC News that countless studies have shown mifepristone to be safe and effectives.

“We stand in solidarity with American women standing up for their rights to access reproductive and sexual healthcare, including their access to abortion,” Langlois’s statement said.

The statement continued, “We have discussed what Canada’s support for American women in need might be, and those discussions are still ongoing…We will continue to monitor closely the situation in the United States.”

If mifepristone is banned, misoprostol would still be available for both abortions and miscarriages on its own, but as an off-label use.

Data from around the world shows misoprostol is safe and effective — and that they’re ready to provide misoprostol-only abortions — but that the two-dose regimen is more effective and has fewer side effects.

ABC News’ Katie Kindelan contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — COVID-19 deaths hit a new low this week, reaching levels not seen since late March 2020, when the pandemic was just beginning.

An estimated 1,160 Americans died from the virus this week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The next lowest point was the week of March 18, 2020, with 169 deaths.

Over 1 million people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic.

“It’s very unlikely that COVID deaths will go to zero, because we have a virus that is now here to stay and, in all likelihood, will constantly evolve to outpace our immunity,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an ABC News contributor and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Cases have also significantly declined, with less than 100,000 people testing positive this week. Experts have warned that case counts may be a gross underestimate due to the widespread availability of at-home tests.

The new XBB.1.16 omicron subvariant may be responsible for a recent surge of cases in India.

It now makes up nearly 10% of new cases in the U.S. but does not appear to be more severe than similar subvariants, experts say.

“We’re still constantly concerned about some new variant, and this is why surveillance and public health action is so important, but at the individual level I think we can now rest assured that we’re in an absolutely better place,” Brownstein said.

More than 50 million Americans have received the most updated COVID bivalent vaccine, CDC data shows.

Uptake has been slowing down since the beginning of the year, with only 5 million people getting the shot in the past few months.

The FDA also recently announced a new simplified vaccination schedule for COVID vaccines.

Those over the age of 65 are now eligible for a second bivalent shot four months after their first. Immunocompromised patients can also receive another booster two months after their first and may be eligible for additional doses under the discretion of their provider.

“We don’t know what a fall surge can bring but given the rapidly declining numbers of deaths and hospitalizations over time, even with new variants emerging, this is a really positive outlook for the future,” Brownstein said.

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(NEW YORK) — A new report claims that the popular cosmetic treatment CoolSculpting may pose a higher risk for a serious side effect than previously thought.

A recently published New York Times examination, which reportedly included a review of “internal documents, lawsuits, medical studies and interviews,” concluded that the risk of a possible side effect of disfigurement only correctable by surgery, may have been previously underreported.

“I spoke with over a dozen doctors who all said that they think the side effect is underreported by the company and this is something they’ve either observed in their own practice or have noticed in research,” Anna Kobe, a New York Times reporter, told ABC News’ Good Morning America.

The CoolSculpting device was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 2010. Allergan Aesthetics, the parent company of Zeltiq Aesthetics, which markets and licenses the CoolSculpting devices, says the treatments are able to “freeze” fat away, citing in 2010 that the treatment is a safe and painless alternative to other fat reduction services, like liposuction.

CoolScupting has since become nearly ubiquitous in dermatology offices, plastic surgery practices and medical spas.

The technology, which was developed in a lab associated with Harvard Medical School, uses a technique called “cryolipolysis,” a nonsurgical technique that applies extreme cold to targeted areas of fat, ultimately reducing some of the fat cells, according to research published in the journal Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology in 2014.

Once treated, some of the frozen fat cells die over the course of a few months, leaving a desired slimming effect.

However, for some patients, the procedure produces different results. A serious side effect — known as paradoxical adipose hyperplasia — may occur in some cases, which is when some of the fat cells enlarge, harden and sometimes take the shape of the applicator — leaving blocky chunks around treated parts of the body.

CoolSculpting states on its website that “rare side effects” may occur following CoolSculpting treatment, including paradoxical hyperplasia, which the manufacturer says occurs in a current reported rate of about 1 out of 3000 treatments.

“These procedures are not for everyone,” it states, adding, “You should not be treated with CoolSculpting or CoolSculpting Elite if you suffer from cryoglobulinemia, cold agglutinin disease, or paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria.”

In response to the New York Times report, Allergan Aesthetics said in a statement that CoolSculpting “has been well studied with more than 100 scientific publications” and claimed “more than 17 million treatments have been performed worldwide.”

Allergan said the company is “compliant with all adverse event reporting requirements” and added that they encourage doctors and their patients to discuss side effects before the start of any CoolSculpting treatments.

“All procedures, including those which involve the use of a medical device, have potential side effects. We encourage doctors and patients to discuss potential benefits and risks before any procedure. While the cause of PH is currently unknown, we have continued to inform healthcare providers and provide educational materials for them to discuss PH risk with patients. In addition, we offer a comprehensive training and education curriculum in partnership with CoolSculpting® providers,” Allergan said.

The company also said it will “continue to review scientific literature related to PH and update provider materials as new data emerges.”

CoolSculpting found itself in the spotlight in September 2021 after model Linda Evangelista alleged that CoolSculpting left her “brutally disfigured.”

The model claimed on Instagram that the treatments had left her “permanently deformed” even after undergoing several corrective surgeries. She claimed she had “not [been] made aware” of the risk of developing paradoxical adipose hyperplasia prior to the treatments.

“PAH has not only destroyed my livelihood, it has sent me into a cycle of deep depression, profound sadness, and the lowest depths of self-loathing,” she wrote in a statement posted to her Instagram account. “In the process, I have become a recluse.”

Evangelista filed a $50 million lawsuit that same month against Zeltiq Aesthetics, claiming the CoolSculpting treatments had caused her to suffer disfigurement, pain, severe emotional distress and economic losses that rendered her unemployable.

At the time, Zeltiq declined to comment on ongoing litigation. In a December court filing, the company claimed that Evangelista had been warned of the procedure’s risks beforehand and asked the court to toss out the case.

Evangelista stated in July 2022 that she had settled her case against Zeltiq, adding that she was ready to move forward and “put this matter behind me.”

A Zeltiq representative told British Vogue that month that the company was “pleased to have resolved this matter with Ms. Evangelista.”

“Our focus continues to be on empowering confidence by providing safe, reliable aesthetics products and services backed by science,” the representative said. “CoolSculpting is an FDA-cleared, non-invasive treatment for visible fat bulges in nine areas of the body.”

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(NEW YORK) — Synthetic chemicals are being detected in America’s water supply at a rapid rate, potentially affecting millions of people over the past two decades, according to a data analysis by ABC News.

Researchers say that when people are exposed at high levels, these chemicals can increase certain health risks.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or forever chemicals, are a group of approximately 12,000 chemicals used to make a variety of industrial and consumer products such as nonstick pans, food packaging and firefighting foam.

Researchers are still studying the potential health impacts, but exposure at high levels have been linked to various health problems, including kidney and testicular cancer, high cholesterol and reduced response to vaccines, according to Jamie DeWitt, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at East Carolina University.

The ABC News analysis of reported PFAS water contamination found that 43% of U.S. ZIP codes have had at least one water source where PFAS contamination was detected over the past 20 years.

The data, collected by ABC News from federal and state environmental agencies, show the number of new detections in water sources each year rose from 753 in 2013 to 2,321 in 2021.

That equates to at least 143 million Americans who have been possibly drinking, bathing and cleaning with contaminated tap water during that period. Additionally, millions more who may have been exposed to PFAS through contaminated water supplies at military installations, airports, manufacturing plants and other sources.

Researchers say that although most people in the U.S. have some level of PFAS in their blood, the health risks are greatest for those that have the highest exposure.

Last year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine put out medical guidelines suggesting that people whose blood contains a high level of PFAS (more than 2 nanograms per milliliter) should get additional screening for high cholesterol, cancer and other potential health risks. People with lower levels of PFAS in their blood “are not expected to have adverse health effects,” according to the committee.

An ABC investigation found significant disparities in PFAS exposure in the U.S.

While PFAS contamination is widespread, contaminated water sites are more prevalent in ZIP codes that are poorer and more racially diverse than the national average, the analysis also found.

Of the ZIP codes where PFAS was detected in water sites, 49% were in ZIP codes where the median household income was below the 2020 national average of $67,521.

One in six ZIP codes with PFAS-contaminated water sites have a higher proportion of non-white population than the national average of 42.2%.

“(Contamination) is sprinkled in every single state in the country. It’s sprinkled in communities small, large, rural, urban, suburban. It’s all over the place,” Erik Olson, the senior strategic director for health at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told ABC News.

The 191-mile Cape Fear River, which runs through the region, is the most industrialized in the state — lined with manufacturing and agricultural plants. It is a drinking water source for more than 1.5 million residents in the region.

A North Carolina newspaper first reported in 2017 that a former DuPont chemical plant had dumped PFAS chemicals into the Cape Fear River for nearly 40 years.

DuPont owned the facility that polluted the river from 1968 until 2015, when it spun-off its PFAS business to a separate business, the Chemours Company.

Because Chemours was operating the facility at the time contamination was discovered in the river, the state of North Carolina investigated and fined the company $12M for violating clean water laws — part of a consent order the company agreed to in order to avoid further litigation.

DuPont officials would not respond to interview requests from ABC News. They were not charged with any wrongdoing because they had sold the company prior to 2017.

Although the Chemours Company declined to speak to ABC News for this story, they did provide an emailed statement saying, “We have and continue to implement state-of-the-art technologies, including a thermal oxidizer completed in December 2019 that destroys over 99.99% of PFAS air emissions.”

The company says it does additional work to treat the “legacy pollution” and reduce PFAS compounds from reaching the Cape Fear River.

Still, there’s an ongoing impact from PFAS contamination on residents in the region.

“North Carolina is kind of ground zero for unlocking and understanding where we are right now with PFAS contamination, especially with drinking water,” Emily Donovan, co-founder of Clean Cape Fear, told ABC News.

“It was kinda like a slow, rolling nightmare. Like a nightmare that you can’t wake up from,” Donovan said.

Blood tests performed between 2020 and 2021 on hundreds of residents in New Hanover and Brunswick counties in the Cape Fear region show almost all had levels of 44 different PFAS chemicals in their bodies.

The median blood level for PFAS chemicals in residents of New Hanover and Brunswick counties was 6 parts per trillion — far above the national average.

In nearby Cumberland County, Carolyn McDonald, a lifelong area resident, is convinced PFAS contamination has contributed to her health problems.

She used to love the taste of well water straight from the ground. But when she heard the groundwater was contaminated, she began to worry.

“I’ve been drinkin’ groundwater from the well all my life,” she said.

Now, McDonald, and her family, who live in the Fayetteville, North Caroline, area, buy bottled water twice a month.

June 5 will mark five years since she began kidney dialysis treatment. She wakes up at 3 a.m., three times a week, to travel about 30 miles to her dialysis center.

McDonald said she was shocked when she was diagnosed with kidney disease.

While impossible to prove PFAS was the cause of McDonald’s illness, research studies say that PFAS contamination increases the risk of kidney disease.

She says she also has nephews, a niece, brothers and friends who also lived in the area and drank the well water — who also suffer from kidney-related problems.

When she learned the contaminated groundwater could be a contributing factor for kidney disease, she says it all made sense.

“All these illnesses, all (of) us … drinkin’ the water. There’s gotta be a connection between the illness and the water,” she said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for monitoring PFAS contamination across the U.S. In October 2021, the EPA released its plan for addressing the problem, but by early 2023, it had only issued a few advisories and missed key deadlines.

This past March, the EPA proposed the first federal limits on six forever chemicals in drinking water. The proposal includes setting a limit of 4 parts per trillion, the lowest level that can be accurately measured, for two types of PFAS chemicals called PFOA and PFOS.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said his strategy is to “hold corporate polluters accountable and work towards regulations that make it very clear what is safe and what is not safe.”

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(NEW YORK) — A Texas mom whose two kids have autism is challenging others to learn about autism spectrum disorder this April, which happens to be Autism Acceptance Month.

It’s an issue close to Tiffany Hammond’s heart, not only because the condition affects her family, but also herself.

The 38-year-old told Good Morning America she received a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome when she was 18 and in college. Nowadays, doctors no longer use the Asperger’s syndrome classification. Instead, people who were given that diagnosis in the past are now understood to have a form of autism.

“In college, I was just like, I don’t want to tell anybody this,” Hammond told GMA. “So I didn’t really think about it. I kind of took the [diagnosis] papers and hid them in my drawers in my dorm and tried to basically go about life as I always was going about it.”

But in the last two decades, Hammond’s perspective has shifted dramatically and she’s now on a mission to tell the stories of her family through her “Fidgets and Fries” website and social media platform and through her upcoming children’s book, A Day With No Words, out May 9.

“[I] try to create something based on my own life that I can share with someone else so that they can get a deeper understanding of what someone else might be going through,” Hammond said, adding that she feels “stories are our greatest teachers.”

Hammond said her older son Aidan, 16, doesn’t speak and her younger son, Josiah, 14, does speak, but only in some situations.

“One of the things that people will tell me after they learn that my son doesn’t speak is, they’ll say, ‘So he doesn’t know words?’ or ‘Does he not understand anything that we’re saying?'” Hammond said.

The mom of two however, said others’ assumptions are often far from reality. Hammond said Aidan does understand words and one of the ways he communicates is by using an iPad with an augmentative and alternative communication app, or AAC app, that lets him tap symbols, pictures and words.

Aidan’s communication method is featured prominently in A Day With No Words. Hammond said the children’s book is not just about Aidan but dedicated to him and his younger brother.

“I wanted to honor my son in every possible way that I could and then I wanted to challenge the reader, so I wanted to entertain them and also challenge them,” Hammond said.

“When I was thinking about it, I was like, this book is not for the autism community, specifically. It has to address those outside of it, because we will not make a more equitable and accessible world if we do not bring in other people,” she added.

With the book, which is also vividly illustrated by artist Kate Cosgrove, Hammond hopes to make readers “think more deeply about their own communication and their own interactions with one another” and “[apply] that to everyone and especially to people like my son.”

“There are a lot of us out there and just learning just a little bit can go a long way — just opening up your understanding and your eyes a little bit more and inviting yourself to learn about an experience that you do not know yet, that helps so much,” Hammond said.

“Even if you never ever in your entire life come across another or a single person that has autism, [learning about autism] still helps you to be a better human, it still helps you to be more compassionate and more understanding, just to learn about the many different ways that we can be human,” she added.

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(ATLANTA) — About one-third of American households used the free at-home COVID-19 test site launched by the Biden administration, new federal data shows.

COVIDTests.gov was first launched in January 2022, when President Joe Biden pledged to give out 1 billion free rapid tests to combat the omicron surge at the time.

The site was temporarily shut down in fall 2022 but relaunched in December as part of the White House’s winter preparedness plan.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published its report Thursday, said more than 70 million test kits were shipped across the United States. The CDC report details how many kits were used and which groups used them.

The agency conducted a survey of 3,400 Americans aged 18 and older between April 14, 2022, and May 13, 2022, who were tested for COVID-19 in the previous six months.

Results showed that 59.9% of households — equivalent to about 77 million households — had ordered government kits. Only 38.3% — equivalent to about 49 million — reported using a test kit.

Of that group, 23.6% said they likely would not have tested without the COVIDTests.gov program.

There were no major differences when it came to who used the site by race and/or ethnicity.

About 42.1% of Black households placed at least one order as did 41.5% of Hispanic households, 34.8% of white households and 53.7% of households of other races.

As for other at-home tests — such as from a pharmacy, a doctor’s office or a drive-thru site — only about 11.8% of Black households used them compared to 45.8% of white households.

“Compared with White persons, Black persons were 72% less likely to use other home test kits,” the report read. “Provision of tests through this well-publicized program likely improved use of COVID-19 home testing and health equity in the United States, particularly among Black persons.”

Households made up of those aged 65 and older were the least likely to have used a test kit from the website, with only 26.8% doing so.

Meanwhile, households with individuals between ages 18 and 34 were the most likely to use a kit.

There were no major differences when it came to who used the program based on which region of the U.S. they lived in, education level or household income.

Additionally, participants were asked if they were aware of the COVIDTests.gov program and how the experience was.

The CDC found that 93.8% of households knew what the program was. Among those who used the test kits 95.5% rated the experience as “very acceptable” or “acceptable.”

“These data indicate that provision of free COVID-19 tests through the COVIDTests.gov program was not only widely used, but also provided a mechanism for millions of persons to receive COVID-19 testing who otherwise might not have,” the authors wrote.

“Moreover, this program likely led to improvement in equity of COVID-19 testing … these findings support the substantial health value of national programs that address critical health needs during a pandemic response,” they continued.

ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Earlier this week, a federal judge in Colorado temporarily exempted a Catholic healthcare clinic from having to follow the state’s recent ban on abortion pill “reversal” treatment.

Gov. Jared Polis signed the ban as part of a series of bills Friday, becoming the first state in the U.S. to ban use of the treatment and furthering enshrining abortion access in Colorado.

However, Bella Health + Wellness, an anti-abortion clinic, sued, arguing the ban violates its constitutional rights, including the right to free speech and equal protection under the law.

Judge Daniel Domenico, a Trump appointee, agreed and issued the temporary halt as the litigation unfolds in court.

Even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this past summer, some states had enacted laws requiring doctors to inform patients that medical abortions could be reversed.

Experts say this so-called “reversal” is unfounded and could be potentially dangerous.

“It’s not just that [patients are] being sold snake oil, that somebody is giving them something in bad faith in an effort to somehow persuade them that they can save their pregnancy,” Dr. Spencer McClelland, an OBGYN at Denver Health, told ABC News. “It’s actually that the best data we have has raised enough concerns about it.”

How does medication abortion work?

To induce an abortion, or manage an early miscarriage, a combination of two pills — mifepristone and misoprostol — is used.

Mifepristone works by blocking progesterone, a hormone that the body needs to continue a pregnancy.

This causes the uterine lining to stop thickening and to break down, detaching the embryo. The second drug, misoprostol, taken 24 to 48 hours later, causes the uterus to contract and dilates the cervix, which will expel the embryo.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized mifepristone for medication abortion in September 2000 for up to seven weeks’ gestation, which was then extended to 10 weeks’ gestation in 2016.

However, the World Health Organization says the two drug-regimen can be taken up until the 12-week mark of pregnancy.

Medication abortions currently make up more than half of all abortions performed in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group focusing on sexual and reproductive health.

McClelland says evidence shows that medication abortions are safe and effective.

“The two being used together makes the process over 95% effective in terms of just completing the abortion process and more importantly, has a really, really, really, really, really, really, really low complication rate,” he said.

What is abortion ‘reversal’?

So-called abortion pill “reversal” is heralded by anti-abortion groups as a tool for pregnant women who regret deciding to end their pregnancy.

The process involves giving the hormone progesterone — orally, vaginally or by injection — after it was blocked by mifepristone in an attempt to “outcompete” the effects of the pill.

Medical groups, including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists and Planned Parenthood, do not support the regimen.

Why is it considered unsafe?

The ACOG has spoken against so-called “reversal,” calling the treatment “not backed by science” as well as “unproven and unethical.”

“As opposed to mifepristone, which has an amazing amount of studies about its usage, showing its safety and efficacy, the high-dose progesterone for the purpose of abortion reversal has a real paucity of evidence,” McClelland said.

The ACOG referenced a 2012 case study that proponents of abortion pill reversal have used, in which six women took mifepristone to end their pregnancies and then took varying doses of an injection of progesterone.

Of those women, four continued their pregnancies.

However, the ACOG says this is not evidence that giving progesterone allowed the pregnancies to continue because it is well-documented that mifepristone is effective with misoprostol, not on its own.

McClelland said this type a case study is different from a randomized controlled trial, in which something — in this case, a medication — is compared against a placebo to show that what scientists are seeing is in fact a result of this medication.

“The abortion reversal pill has a lot of case theories or case reports, and those are essentially just some groups of people publishing reports about what happened to their patients when they took this without being able to say that the reason that pregnancies continued at a certain rate was actually because of this medication,” he said. “Because if you compare them to people who didn’t take it, maybe you’d find out those pregnancies continued at the same rate. And it’s just a weaker study design.”

Another study, in 2019, examining medication abortion reversal was ended early due to safety concerns.

“A really surprising number of women experienced threatening hemorrhage and having to come to the hospital for emergency care after they were enrolled in this,” McClelland said. “What we can say for sure is they terminated the study early because they didn’t feel comfortable continuing the study.”

ACOG has also argued laws that require physicians to tell patients that medication abortion can be reversed “represent dangerous political interference and compromise patient care and safety.”

McClelland said these kinds of laws, which include a pregnant person being required to look at an ultrasound before they have an abortion, often have a façade as being in a patient’s best interest when it can be just the opposite.

“It’s definitely coercive or it implies some lack of support or lack of expertise in the person who’s counseling them about their abortion,” he said. “There are many, many techniques in this effort to reduce the number of people having abortions.”

With mifepristone potentially set to be restricted by the Supreme Court after a ruling from a federal judge in Texas reversed the FDA’s approval of the pill — although it has been temporarily stayed — McClelland says it’s important for experts to do what they can to combat medical misinformation.

Opponents to mifepristone have argued that the FDA did not do enough due diligence before approving the medication, but McClelland says its abortion “reversal” treatment that is unproven.

“What is triggering for the medical community is yet another moment where medical expertise is devalued and reproductive rights are devalued, and we honestly feel like we’re screaming into the wind to convince people that we know what we’re doing and can be trusted,” he said. “When that particularly involves infringing on the rights of people and we can’t seem to do our best to advocate based on the evidence we have, and that’s paralyzing.”

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(NEW YORK) — More than one-third of Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to an annual report published by the American Lung Association. The 24th iteration of the State of the Air report determined 19 million fewer Americans live in these areas.

Unhealthy levels of pollution were defined as receiving a failing grade for one of the three metrics.

The annual report looked at three air quality measures: Particle pollution, broken into daily averages and daily spikes, and ozone levels, which are tracked by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

As defined by the report, particle pollution, also known as soot, is a mixture of tiny bits of solids and liquids in the air that can come from many sources that emit fine particles. Sources can include factories, power plants, motor vehicles, and burning of wood, including forest fires.

Ozone, also known as smog, is a gas compound composed of three oxygen atoms that is formed in the lower atmosphere when pollutants, often from burning fossil fuels, interact with sunlight and heat.

“120 million people were living in places that got unhealthy grades, but that’s quite a bit fewer than we saw last year, and that’s largely because we’ve seen improvements in ozone air pollution which is really good news,” says Katerine Pruitt, the national senior director for policy at the American Lung Association.

Since the initial publication of the annual report, there has been a shift of the most polluted cities from the East Coast to the West Coast. This has been attributed to the improvement in ozone pollution and the rise of particle pollution.

“Because we’ve seen improvements in ozone air pollution which is really good news. Ozone air pollution is still the most widespread of the pollutants that we track,” said Pruitt. “On the flip side of that is particle pollution, which is continuing to get worse. And we found that the number of people living with unhealthy levels of fine particle pollution has almost doubled in the last five years.”

Pruitt credits the drop in ozone pollution to the improving standards and regulations following the Clean Air Act.

Unfortunately, these positive impacts have been negated by climate change in the West.

“The impact of climate change is undermining the progress that’s been made,” Pruitt told ABC News.

Wildfires have also been a driving force in the shifting to air pollution.

“I can tell you that in California, where I have been practicing more frequently for the past 25 years because of the wildfire smoke 20 years ago, maybe 20 to 30 days of the year, you would expect to have coverage of wildfires. Now it’s about 100,” said Dr. Kari Nadeau, John Rock Professor of Climate Science and Population Studies and Chair, Environmental Health at Harvard University, and Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology clinical specialist, who currently practices in both California and Massachusetts.

“Ozone in particular can make asthma worse, but it has also been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, increase the risk of stroke and increase the risk of premature birth,” Dr. Nadeau said.

“People with preexisting lung disease like asthma and COPD definitely can experience exacerbations that require them to use more medication to open their airways and it can also lead to them going to the emergency department, or even getting hospitalized,” said Dr. John Balmes, professor emeritus of pulmonary and critical care at the University of California- San Francisco and a spokesperson for the American Lung Association.

Americans can learn more about the air quality in their own communities by visiting the EPA website AirNow.gov or download the AirNow.gov app.

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(NEW YORK) — With summer and swim season just months away, one mom is warning other parents not to buy blue swimsuits for their kids.

Nikki Scarnati, a mom of two and swim instructor in Spring Hill, Florida, shared in a recent video post on her TikTok page why she doesn’t recommend them.

“This is not a regular bathing suit my daughter wears on a regular basis. I bought it on clearance specifically for this example for parents who wanted to learn,” the 32-year-old says in the video, turning the camera on her 2-year-old daughter Claire, who is seen treading water in a pool while wearing a light blue swimsuit.

“Look how difficult it is to see her under the water — and this is in calm water,” Scarnati continued. “This is not with a whole bunch of other kids playing, splashing around and having a good time. Even look in the sunlight, look how difficult it is to see her with that bathing suit on ’cause it’s the same color as our environment. So, do not buy a blue bathing suit guys.”

Scarnati, a Florida native who specializes in teaching children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years old, said this simple piece of advice was one she learned from her family growing up.

“My mom had three kids so she wanted us to be easiest to spot because we were always in different places at one time. But as I’ve gotten into the teaching role and working with students, I discovered it wasn’t as widely known as I thought it was,” Scarnati explained to ABC News’ Good Morning America.

“In the industry, it’s kind of widely known that blue bathing suits are problematic in pools and open water. So it was just one of the many things that I could help educate parents on, that would be applicable to really everyone,” she said.

Scarnati said she has noticed blue children’s swimsuits are widely available and very easy to find.

“Blues are very common in bathing suit color and I think that [fuels] the frustration for a lot of professionals that work with children, especially in a pool setting,” Scarnati said.

Water safety tips for parents

Adam Katchmarchi, executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and an assistant professor in sport management at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania, agreed that avoiding blue swimsuits is one way to prevent water dangers like drowning.

“After someone does experience a drowning incident, they can submerge below the water and whether that’s in a pool or in a natural body of water, that can really distort what we’re able to see surface level, to even see that there may be a situation we need to respond to,” Katchmarchi told GMA. “So wearing bright colors, no matter what the age, is really a good safety recommendation.”

The National Drowning Prevention Alliance recommends parents practice five layers of protection to keep kids safe in the water. Those five layers are:

1. Barriers and alarms, like fencing around pools and alarms on doors and windows that open to the pool so an adult is alerted when they’re opened.

2. Supervision that is “close, constant and capable” is critical for water safety, according to the Alliance.

3. Water competency, meaning that both adults and children should know how to swim. The Alliance recommends talking to your child’s pediatrician about when to start water safety or swimming lessons.

4. Life jackets are needed whenever “on or around open and natural bodies of water and when boating,” according to the Alliance.

5. Emergency preparation includes keeping a phone poolside to be able to quickly call 911 and learning and practicing how to perform CPR, according to the Alliance.

Katchmarchi noted that when it comes to supervision, bright bathing suits make a difference.

“Part of the supervision element is … making sure that you can actively supervise your child anytime they’re around or in the water,” he said. “And one of those ways is to make sure that they have a bright colored swimsuit.”

Both Scarnati and Katchmarchi recommend parents seek out neon-colored swimsuits, such as neon yellow and orange that “are going to stand out in the environment.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is a leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 4.

Scarnati said she hopes her TikTok post, which has so far racked up more than six million views and nearly half a million likes, can prevent future drowning deaths.

“At the end of the day, drowning is the No. 1 cause of death in children under 4 and the second in children 5 to 12, so if I can give as many tips as possible to parents to help them make better decisions … just to help drowning statistics lower a little bit, then I’ve done my job,” she said.

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